An investigation into the phenomena and practices of spiritual ...

For those who reject traditional Christian discourse, this can mean that lightning can beseen as less, or not at all miraculous, and that all the miracles of the bible should be seen aseither, like lightning, as having normal proximate physical causes or as not to havehappened in the way reported in the bible. For these, the depiction of these “miraculous”events is part of a pre-modern mythological world view that makes assumptions aboutdivine reality and intervention which might no longer be tenable. Some religious peopleover the last couple of centuries have turned this argument on its head, and insist thatgenuine miracles are not just things which are inexplicable right now because we do notnough about God‟s creation, but are necessarily inexplicable except as directinterventions by God without any other proximate cause, physical or otherwise, and whichare supernatural without at the same time being un-natural. Whether the concept ofcreative action, which is outside or beyond the nature of creation, is philosophicallycoherent remain a matter for debate which is beyond the scope of this thesis. Christians andChristian scholarship are thus divided on the question of whether or not miracles havehappened in the past and whether or not they happen today. The issue is not about whetheror not the bible is accepted, but also about how it is interpreted.8.3 The Practice of Laying on of hands or Therapeutic TouchBoth churches practise the laying on of hands for healing according to what they see as abiblical pattern, where the elders are called upon to lay hands on the sick (James 5). Theritual is practiced in the services by the ministers and other appointed healers, approved bythe ministers. Direct touch or laying on of hands was observed as a regular practice. Itresembled the practices recorded in both the clinical literature by observers like Hallett264